No New Jail - The Billion Dollar Pig - is dedicated to minimizing jail populations in Spokane and other counties nationwide. We are Spokane County area citizens opposed to new incarceration space. We believe that retribution and incarceration have little to do with either deterrence or safety, and that it has fostered a trillion dollar industry of jails and prisons unparalleled in history. We are determined to end the craziness of politicians and the profits of prison builders.

Monday, June 21, 2010

SPOKANE, Wash. - Declining jail population and the need to appropriately balance staffing numbers has led to 10 more layoffs at the Geiger Corrections Center and Spokane County Jail. Capt. John McGrath announced the layoff of 57 detention services employees May 18 th, but that number was increased by 10 Thursday after efforts to close a $1 million shortfall in the 2010 budget remained. "This is a matter of right-sizing our staffing given the reduced number of inmates we are seeing this year," McGrath reported. "We continue to try to run the most efficient facilities for the taxpayer." The 10 employees, eight at Geiger Corrections and two at the downtown jail, were notified Thursday evening that their jobs would end July 16 th. "This is an incredibly hard thing to have to do, and it isn't pretty," McGrath said in a memo to Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and corrections staff Thursday. "It's as low as we can get and still operate the two sites safely." The captain said he will have to continue to review the budget and jail population on a month-by-month basis to see if other changes become necessary.